Mission:
Tekes' primary objective is to promote the competitiveness of Finnish industry and the service sector by technological means. Activities aim to diversify production structures, increase production and exports, and create a foundation
for employment and societal well-being.
Tekes provides funding and expert services, including internationalisation services for companies and research
institutes. Tekes participates actively in the planning and implementation of the technology policy in Finland.
Budget:
Euro €380 million.
Activities:
Tekes plans, coordinates and finances technology programmes. It provides funding for applied technical research carried out by institutes and universities, as well as for R&D projects within industry with emphasis on the small and medium sized companies.
Tekes coordinates and finances Finnish participation in international technological R&D cooperation, like COST, EUREKA, EU research programmes and the European Space Agency (ESA). The role of Tekes is to assist the
early stages of cooperation and, in some cases, to finance the R&D. The actual work is carried out at universities and research institutes and in industry.
Tekes is represented by the Technology units of fifteen Employment and Economic Development Centres throughout Finland. These units offer assistance to small to medium size companies in planning development projects which involve new technology and international competition. The technology advisers also play an important role in the diffusion of new technology.
Tekes has four overseas offices. The offices in San Jose, California, Tokyo and Washington D.C. promote cooperation and technological development between
highly regarded institutions in the area and with their Finnish counterparts. The Bussels office promotes the interaction between Finnish national technology
programmes and the European Union R&D programmes.
Staff:
315 in total, 150 of these are technology and business experts
